by Lake, D. K.
"That's not true."
"Isn't it? You're having his baby, Alex."
Drew walked to the door but paused before turning back to me and taking my face in his hands and crushing his lips to mine. It felt so final. Like he was saying goodbye. He pulled away, leaving me breathless and my heart racing.
"I love you." I whispered, a stray tear rolling down my cheek because I couldn't hold them back any longer.
He let go of me and walked to the door but glanced back at me one last time.
"I love you too, Pretty. I always have...I always will."
And then he was gone.
I stayed in my room for the rest of the evening, counting down the hours until midnight.
In the end, I couldn't do it. I couldn't take Lane's child away from him no matter what he had done to me in the past. I just couldn't.
I watched the clock as midnight approached and it took everything I had to stay seated on the side of the bed. I kept telling myself over and over that I was doing the right thing and Drew would come to his senses and come back, right? I gripped the bedsheets harder to keep me grounded. I couldn't believe he had given me this ultimatum. It was so unfair. Time seemed to slow down and my beating heart only accelerated as the minutes ticked by, and suddenly it was 12.10 am. I gasped and ran to the window, climbing onto the window seat that had a clear view of the garden down below. I held my breath, thinking he would change his mind and come upstairs to find me but I almost stopped breathing when a shadow darted across the grass and under the trees. I moved closer to the glass to get a better look, so close my nose was touching the window and my warm breath was creating a fog cloud on the glass. Drew stepped out of the trees with his backpack on his back and his crossbow slung over his shoulder.
He slowly walked out from the shadows and stopped on the grass just down below, looking up at me.
I shrugged to let him know I couldn't go with him. I didn't want him to go but I couldn't leave with him. Not now. I knew Drew was desperate to get home, and I couldn't stop him.
He shrugged back and held up his hands, and I pressed my hand flat against the glass. It took everything I had not to throw the door open and chase after him and beg him to stay.
A security guard walked around the side of the building carrying a flashlight and Drew looked over his shoulder and saw the security guard coming. He then took one last look at me before darting off into the shadows.
And then he was gone again.
Only this time I didn't think I'd ever see Drew Caraway again.
Years Later.
It was a warm day at sea. Yes, you heard me right. It was Lane's idea to get a boat, and lucky for us Josh had experience with boats and had grown up learning to sail with his father. We wanted to be safe and not worry about deadbies or humans and what better way than to live out at sea on your own boat. We had stayed at the White House where I had given birth to a healthy little boy named, Theo Neal Walker. He was such a kind and caring child at only seven-years-old. He was always offering to help me with whatever I was doing, I couldn't have asked for a better child. He was the same as Lane in the looks department, the same blond hair, and the same green eyes. He was definitely going to grow up and be a stunner. Lane and I had eventually worked out our differences and decided to give it another go, and it was easier to keep tabs on him when there was only us at sea and no tempting females anywhere, not unless I counted Tammy but she was eight months pregnant and Lane considered her more of a sister now. Josh and Tammy joined us when we left Utah, bringing Lilly and Ozma, and Josh had found us two boats that were suitable to live on and we had been at sea ever since. Tammy and Josh had finally got together which I was really pleased about. She had been desperate to have children and had put it off until now, and we had been lucky enough to find a midwife at the last place we docked so we would be staying in the area for the next month so we could get Tammy to the midwife to deliver safely. We were all really excited. When we left things were looking up in the world, a vaccine had been produced and was being distributed, and people were living again and not just surviving.
I carried the tray of drinks up to the deck and held the tray out for Lilly and Ozma. They were both inseparable and spent most days on the deck adding to their tan. They both lived on the other boat with Josh and Tammy but liked to sunbathe on Lane's and mine because Josh and Lane did all the fishing on the other boat and the deck smelled fishy.
I had warned the girls that too much sun isn't good for them but try telling that to a fourteen-year-old and her little wannabe.
"Put your hat on." I reminded Ozma.
"No, it itches my head." Ozma complained, taking a glass from the tray.
"You'll burn." I sang and walked to the other end of the dock where Tammy had her legs up under a parasol reading a birthing book, and Theo was on the floor playing with his cars. I looked over at the other boat that was anchored next to ours and waved at Lane and Josh as they lifted the net onto the boat full of fish.
"I feel like a walrus." Tammy whined.
"No, you don't. You look eight months pregnant."
"I just want it out of me now. Whose idea was it to get me pregnant again?"
"I think it was all those margaritas on the beach." I chuckled.
"Ugh. Don't remind me. I have never been so drunk in all my life." Tammy laughed. "So when are you and Lane going to start trying for number two?"
"Let's focus on you giving birth before we try to get me pregnant, huh?" I laughed it off.
Honestly, I wasn't ready for another child. Having Theo and the trauma I went through, the seventy-two hours of labor and I only dilated to six centimeters and by then I was already exhausted so they had to give me an emergency c-section which got infected when it was healing and now I had a forever scar. I so wasn't ready to go through all that again. I didn't think I would ever be ready again. I was happy with Theo.
"So have you thought of any more names?" I asked, quickly changing the subject and sipping on my straw.
"Hmm...I like Noah but Josh wants to name the baby Thomas after his brother if it's a boy. I've still got my fingers crossed for a girl."
"And if it's a girl?"
"I like the name Cassie and I really love Esme."
"They're both nice."
"I think I'm gonna have to wait until I see the baby before I can pick a name."
"That's what I did with Theo. I had all these other names written down and then when I saw him I just knew I wanted to call him Theo. Lane wanted to call him Hunter, and Archer and a bunch of other names like that."
"Aww, well I think Theo suits him perfectly."
"Me too." I smiled.
Tammy sipped her drink and frowned.
"I wish this had alcohol in it."
"Not long now, and how do you think I feel? I should have never agreed to give up alcohol while you were pregnant. I would kill for a cool beer right now."
"When this baby is out of me and I'm all recovered we are so putting the boys on babysitting duty and I am gonna get you so drunk." Tammy giggled.
"It won't take much either."
"Here's to all the good times ahead of us." Tammy said, holding up her glass.
"I look forward to it." I said, clinking my glass against hers.
As I gazed out across the ocean my thoughts turned to Drew. If I had been hoping to forget about him it hadn't happened yet because everything out here reminded me of him. All I saw when I looked out at the sea was Drew's beautiful eyes, the blues and the swirls of the sea. I would be seeing his eyes for as long as time. And then there was his scent, I couldn't explain it but he always smelled like sandy beaches and fresh sea water and I loved both of those things.
Drew was like a thief in the night and he stole my heart, but with every day it got easier. Drew was just a distant memory, a somewhat happy one but he was still there. I sometimes wondered if he ever thought about me when he looked up at the night sky because I still thought about him. More than I probably should. I
hoped to see him again one day, and I really believed we would meet again, life was funny like that, it had a way of bringing people back together. And Josh kept bringing up the idea of sailing that way and taking a trip to Louisiana to meet up with Evan because they got on really well together, and I'd like to see Lena again, so maybe we would see Drew again. What's that saying? Never say never.
Game Over!
Note from the Author.
Soooo...that's it for the Zombie Zovels. What did you guys think? I appreciate any feedback, Goodreads rating/review, Amazon reviews...please x. I was in two minds about the alternative ending, but I wanted to throw it in there for anyone that is Team Lane. It was never my intention to have another love interest for Alex other than Lane, and Drew was supposed to be an extra character that disappeared after book 2 but I kinda fell in love with his character and I wanted to bring him along for the ride and see how their relationship would grow. So the alternative ending is for anyone that wanted Alex and Lane to end up together, but for me personally, it was always Drew.
New series coming soon!!
I have another new series coming out soon called Blue Raspberry (Kelsey and Mitchel's story). New Adult/ YA Contemporary. It's just your typical high school love story, girl meets boy, girl falls in love, but with all the extra craziness. I should know, their story has had my head in a spin for months now. It follows the life of Kelsey Moon and how her world gets turned upside down when the Torres brothers move to town. Full of lots of ‘firsts’. First kisses, first love, first fight, first job, first prom, (cough) first time (cough). I've already said too much. I am so excited about this one. Any updates or book releases I usually announce on Goodreads, and you can always contact me on there...so stay tuned.
Here's a sneak peek of the first three chapters of Blue Raspberry. Enjoy. xx
1
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM.
It was my birthday. A Monday morning. It was also a school day.
I exit the bus and make my way toward Radley High School. I scan the grounds, searching for Nessie. She always gets here before me.
Nessie has been my best friend since forever. I can't actually remember a time before Nessie. It has always been Nessie and me. We've had other friends that have come and gone over the years but we've always been so close that I think anyone who tried to hang out with us just felt left out.
Nessie and Stephen (Nessie's twin brother) have their own driver to drop them off. I have to get the bus with my sister who is in the year below me.
My sister, Paige brushes past me, completely ignoring me on her way to meet her friends. I walk inside and head straight for my locker. I dump half my books inside, most of them are thick textbooks that are backbreakingly heavy. I hate this place. The teachers give us too much homework, the books are heavy, the school doesn't have proper heating and is freezing most of the time, the gym clothes are embarrassingly tight, the teachers are either really old or they're just plain boring, and the girls are really bitchy. I keep my head down most days, but Nessie's brother is the main reason why I haven't been picked on. It wouldn't look good if anyone was caught picking on his sister's best friend, the same one he has been crushing on for years now. I'm not interested but I think he is still convinced I will change my mind and fall for him. He's one of the popular kids and is always inviting us to join them for lunch. Stephen's well known for throwing these crazy parties where he's allowed to have as many people as he wants over to his house, and there is always alcohol, and his parents usually aren't there and stay a few nights at The Conrad Hotel (which they own). Anyone would think Stephen is in college. He's taller than Nessie and is really built for an eighteen-year-old because he works out at home a lot, and Nessie had told me he has recently hired a personal trainer. The only way you would know they're related is because they share the same name and they have the same dark red hair...that Nessie refers to as strawberry blond. (I don't know what mirror she's looking in). She's already 5'7'' , taller than me, and she makes me feel like a Hobbit. I'm only 5'2'' and a bit. I'm still hoping I'll grow a few more inches over the next few years.
The school corridors start to fill up and I stand by my locker, not having anywhere else to go, and I don't want to sit outside on the benches on my own. I dig through my locker and rearrange my books to pass the time and look as though I'm actually doing something important other than hovering by my locker like a loner. I hear a locker open five doors down from mine. I peek around my locker door and see a guy with messy, black-brown hair with natural curls sticking up in all directions like he's just woken up. He's wearing baggy jeans that look like they might fall off at any second and a holey white t-shirt but I can see he works out from his muscular biceps. He has a long chain around his neck and rings on nearly all his fingers. He looks older. His jaw is rough with dark stubble and he looks a little more worn and rough around the edges than a regular senior. I notice on the back of each of his hands he has matching black rose tattoos. I don't know anyone in our year that has any tattoos. I haven't seen him before, or maybe I never noticed him before, but that is a little unbelievable, I'm sure I would remember him. I wonder if he's a transfer, and if so, did he get put back a year, he looks near to twenty. He shuts his locker door and catches me looking at him...more like gawking. I straightway notice his black eye and split lip. I turn around and pretend to look busy inside my locker, still waiting for Nessie to show up or for the bell to ring. I dare one more peek over my shoulder as he walks away with his back to me. I notice the other students doing the same, looking at him with interest. He must be new. I see Nessie heading this way, she walks straight past him, too busy looking down at her phone. As she passes him he looks over his shoulder at her, checking her out. She walks over to me, completely oblivious.
"Hey," She smiles. "Sorry, I'm late. My driver got the flu so Mom had to bring us in and she drives like a snail in slow motion."
"It's ok, I've kept myself busy. You know you missed the new boy. He was totally checking out your ass."
"What?! What new boy?" She frowns and looks down the corridor but it's too late because he's already disappeared into the crowd. She turns back to look at me. "New boy?"
"I dunno, he's using the locker five doors down, I've never seen him before."
"Was he cute?"
"Um, yeah I guess."
"You guess?"
"If you like that kinda thing, messy hair, unshaved, black eye."
"Oooh, a bad boy." she sings.
"Anyway, I think he's older than us so he won't be interested."
"You never know."
"Well, as your best friend I forbid you from getting involved with him. You know a guy like that will only break your heart, then I'll have to fix it."
"What would I do without you?" She throws her arms around me. "On a scale of one to ten, how hot was he?" she asks.
"Oh, get off!" I laugh and shut my locker.
"Well?"
"Uhh...three, maybe a four."
"You're lying! Are you blushing?"
"Ok, ok, he was a solid nine."
"Really?" she says a little too excited.
"But he looks like trouble."
The school bell rings and I pull her along the corridor as she scans the crowd for the mysterious new boy.
Calculus drags on and I swear the clock on the wall is broken and I am glad when the bell finally rings. We have an eventful French class, the teacher spends most of the class out of the classroom and we don't get much done, and it's hard to concentrate when most of the class is messing around like a group of monkeys, hanging out of the windows and throwing things.
I take a seat near the window in English and pull out my notebook. My stomach is already grumbling. I give it a little rub and silently tell it to stop, one more hour, then I can eat. I skipped breakfast and now I'm paying for it.
Nessie plops down into the seat next to me and the class soon fills up. I doodle on the front of my notebook waiting for the teacher to arrive. Nes
sie is on her phone, not really paying attention to anything. Stephen walks in and I look down at my notebook. I'm hoping if I don't make eye contact he might ignore me, but he doesn't and walks straight down the aisle between Nessie and me and sits on the edge of my desk.
"Hey, Kelsey."
"Hi, Stephen."
I pull my notebook out from under him and carry on doodling.
"You coming over to ours for the after-game party on Friday night?" he asks eagerly.
"You haven't won yet." I reply in a bored tone.
"We will and I already booked a DJ."
Stephen is so cocky, it's another reason why I'm not into him.
"Maybe," I mutter, but I doubt it.
Nessie and I usually go to the movies on Friday nights and we never go to any of Stephen's parties because it's just a bunch of kids getting drunk and making out. And I don't want to get completely wasted and end up making out with Stephen and doing something I regret.
"Vee!" Stephen kicks Nessie's desk to get her attention.
She hates being called 'Vee' or even 'Vanessa', that's why I started calling her Nessie when we were little, and it stuck.
"What?" She frowns, looking up from her phone.
"Party, this Friday. Make sure you bring Kelsey."
I silently laugh at the way he says bring Kelsey. The party's at his house, or technically his parent's house, and he knows Nessie will be over at mine or we'll be out in town together.
"Sure thing, wouldn't want to miss catching an STD or getting puked on." Nessie responds, sticking her tongue out at him.
I can see the teacher at the front, he's talking to someone but I can't see who because Stephen is in the way.
"Move. The teacher's here." I say to get him to move off my desk and he walks behind me and drops into the seat behind me.
I hate him sitting behind me. He likes to throw little bits of paper at me to get my attention, most of the girls think it's cute, I find it annoying. I don't like Stephen like that. I can still remember him in his tiny Speedos when we were six and that terrible SpongeBob impression he used to do because he was obsessed with SpongeBob SquarePants. I think of him more like a brother than anything.
